SA EXPRESS will be discontinuing
its Cape Town-Maputo and Cape
Town-Windhoek routes as of
May 15.
In a statement, the airline said
the changes were “in support of the
airline’s strategy of sustainability and
improving connectivity”. This follows
the regional carrier’s recent application
with the Air Services Licensing Council
to operate three flights a week
between Johannesburg (OR Tambo
International) and Maputo.
Stefan Louw of Trigon Travel believes
the reason for the flights being pulled
is that SAX has not been able to fill
its aircraft. He says the Cape TownWindhoek
schedule was limiting as it
operated on Tuesdays and Thursdays,
which is not ideal for business
travellers as it requires two nights’
accommodation. The timing of the
return flight on the same day does not
afford the traveller enough time at the
destination either.
On the Cape Town-Maputo route,
Stefan says there is not sufficient
business travel demand from the
Mother City. He adds that leisure
travellers tend to connect onward
to the islands and that SAX, to his
knowledge, did not have agreements
in place with other airlines to make
this possible. He says Cape Town
travellers are used to travelling
via Johannesburg when visiting
Mozambique.
Rod Rutter, coo of XL Travel, says
the majority of travellers to Maputo
are linked to the mining and industrial
sectors, and those companies’ head
offices are based in Johannesburg,
making the demand stronger.
Rod adds that the Windhoek route
would be difficult for SAX to sustain
because of strong competition from
Air Namibia, which operates a more
cost-effective service due to its larger
aircraft.
Eric Sakawsky, Flight Centre’s gm of
corporate, believes cutting the routes
will have an effect on options and
price. “We are a little disappointed
that SAX has cancelled the flights as
we like to offer our clients as many
options as possible. Cancelling this
route obviously limits these options.
Not having the Cape Town-Maputo
route will definitely have an impact
on our clients and will likely result in
increased cost for them travelling to
Maputo.”
The leisure sector, however, will not
be greatly affected by the withdrawal
of the routes. Tarryn Gibson of
Wilderness Safaris says that although
overall business to Mozambique and
Namibia has shown an increase in
numbers, only a small percentage
of itineraries combine Cape Town
and Windhoek or Maputo, with most
guests flying via Johannesburg.
Megan d’Arcy, Comair Travel’s
product manager, adds that tourism to
Mozambique is mainly concentrated
in the mid to north coastal and island
areas, with Vilanculos, Inhambane
and Pemba being the main gateways.
“Reduced flights to Maputo will most
probably affect the corporate market,
however the tourism industry will feel
less of an impact as the bulk
of this industry is not located
in the Maputo area.”
The withdrawal from the
Maputo and Windhoek routes
will, however, have an effect
on availability, especially
during peak seasons, says
Lynette Smith, Thompsons
Holidays’ product and
contracting executive for
Africa. “It could also impact
on the competitiveness of
ticket prices on the route.
Hopefully the existing carriers
will be able to manage traffic
on these routes without a
hitch.”
SAX did not respond to
further questions from
TNW.
